Guys, I think I bricked my Helix... PLEASE HELP

[JustinSummerlin1]

This doesn't really have to do with 3.60 specifically except that I was trying to upgrade to that firmware.  My helix was having trouble staying connected over USB (though when I bought the helix used, I updated to 3.52 just fine)... and I decided to try the update anyway.  It failed a couple times and I had to restart a couple times, but eventually, the progress bar made it to like 90% and THEN it failed again.  For the last time.  Now, it still says "Boot Failure. Entered Update Mode!" like it did after the first few update failures, but, it's got a new symptom.  Computers (I'm using a Windows 11 PC and a Mac with Ventura 13.0.1) no longer recognize it as line 6 hardware.  I get a Windows notification that says:

"The last USB device you connected to this computer malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it."

 

No amount of uninstalling software or drivers will fix it.  No amount of turning the helix on and off or plugging/unplugging USB will fix it.

 

And the Mac doesn't even see anything plugged into my USB port as far as I can tell.

 

So, now it won't show up in Line6 Updater because it's not being recognized as Line 6 hardware.

 

I think I destroyed my Helix.  Please tell me I didn't.

[silverhead]

I suggest you open a support ticket.

[rd2rk]

If you know someone with a Win10 computer, you might be able to use that to complete the update.

If not, yeah, support ticket time.

[JustinSummerlin1]

On 4/26/2023 at 8:59 PM, silverhead said:

I suggest you open a support ticket.

 

I opened a support ticket and it seems I'm going to either have to take my Helix to a repair center or ship it off to LA to get fixed.  Blerg.

 

In other news, I'm going to attempt to get my Windows machine into safe mode and see if I can get it to work that way.  I'm not optimistic, but it's something to try.  Thanks for your input.

[ha4dcore]

My Helix never wants to connect. I've done everything that you can possibly think of and the last update failed and almost bricked my helix also. It seems to be something with the driver and the software that checks the drivers although it seems like other people don't have issues? One thing I found that worked for about a month was I went in and uninstalled windows updates for about the past three or four and I was able to connect again. Btw I will say I have three different windows 10 computers, all the same issue. I had a laptop that I uninstalled the windows updates and it started to connect but it will just disconnect whenever it wants to. I did see a lot of people had the same issues with the drivers so I thought maybe one day there would be a windows update that magically fixed everything, that has not come. 

[silverhead]

On 4/27/2023 at 9:34 PM, ha4dcore said:

My Helix never wants to connect. I've done everything that you can possibly think of and the last update failed and almost bricked my helix also. It seems to be something with the driver and the software that checks the drivers although it seems like other people don't have issues? One thing I found that worked for about a month was I went in and uninstalled windows updates for about the past three or four and I was able to connect again. Btw I will say I have three different windows 10 computers, all the same issue. I had a laptop that I uninstalled the windows updates and it started to connect but it will just disconnect whenever it wants to. I did see a lot of people had the same issues with the drivers so I thought maybe one day there would be a windows update that magically fixed everything, that has not come. 

Have you ever opened a support ticket? Your situation seems highly unusual to me and I strongly suspect it’s something to do with your particular computing environment. Line 6 Tech Support may have relevant info.

[HonestOpinion]

On 4/27/2023 at 9:34 PM, ha4dcore said:

My Helix never wants to connect. I've done everything that you can possibly think of and the last update failed and almost bricked my helix also. It seems to be something with the driver and the software that checks the drivers although it seems like other people don't have issues? One thing I found that worked for about a month was I went in and uninstalled windows updates for about the past three or four and I was able to connect again. Btw I will say I have three different windows 10 computers, all the same issue. I had a laptop that I uninstalled the windows updates and it started to connect but it will just disconnect whenever it wants to. I did see a lot of people had the same issues with the drivers so I thought maybe one day there would be a windows update that magically fixed everything, that has not come. 

 

The first thing to try is to disable 'Memory Integrity' (do so at your own risk, there are security implications or that setting wouldn't be there). Many Windows users have had to turn it off though to get various devices to work with Windows. The fact that you are seeing the same issue on multiple Win 10 computers makes this one of the possible culprits. You can do this on Windows 11 (assume it is the same or similar in Windows 10) by clicking on the Windows icon and typing "Windows Security". Open the Windows Security app and click the "Core isolation details" link under the "Core Isolation" heading. Now turn "Memory Integrity" off. This may fix your problem. In the past at least, the Helix editor/driver has not played well with the "Memory Integrity" set to on. There are drivers from other manufacturers that have this problem as well, it is not unique to the Line6 software/drivers. 

 

If that doesn't work, have you tried different USB cables? 

 

If that doesn't work I would create a backup, do a factory reset, and then a restore. Make sure to restart the Helix after the restore.

 

If that doesn't work, I would create a backup and download and install HX Edit 3.60 and the latest version of the firmware (also 3.60). Then start the Line6 Updater, make sure you do NOT have HX Edit running while you are running the Updater. Then reinstall the firmware, do a factory reset, and restore your backup. Make sure to restart the Helix after the restore. The Updater will often recognize the Helix without issue, when there is a problem with either the firmware or the HX Edit installation that causes the Helix not to be recognized by HX Edit.

[gerpi]

On 4/27/2023 at 2:56 AM, JustinSummerlin1 said:

This doesn't really have to do with 3.60 specifically except that I was trying to upgrade to that firmware.  My helix was having trouble staying connected over USB (though when I bought the helix used, I updated to 3.52 just fine)... and I decided to try the update anyway.  It failed a couple times and I had to restart a couple times, but eventually, the progress bar made it to like 90% and THEN it failed again.  For the last time.  Now, it still says "Boot Failure. Entered Update Mode!" like it did after the first few update failures, but, it's got a new symptom.  Computers (I'm using a Windows 11 PC and a Mac with Ventura 13.0.1) no longer recognize it as line 6 hardware.  I get a Windows notification that says:

"The last USB device you connected to this computer malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it."

 

No amount of uninstalling software or drivers will fix it.  No amount of turning the helix on and off or plugging/unplugging USB will fix it.

 

And the Mac doesn't even see anything plugged into my USB port as far as I can tell.

 

So, now it won't show up in Line6 Updater because it's not being recognized as Line 6 hardware.

 

I think I destroyed my Helix.  Please tell me I didn't.

I had the same "Boot Failure. Entered Update Mode!" massage. No connection to HX Edit either. Then I tried the Line6 updater. That worked!
I am using Mac Big Sur. Important to follow the instructions: the updater must not leave focus or the Mac go in sleep mode.